Group AAR #2: Fight for the Future

[ete]

Ah, I was wondering whether you'd get Fusion before my next turn. Five techs probed off Satori! Only one SP, but it's a handy one for you. Stops you falling behind me/creche/satori by much in tech.

And sounds like my war with Satori is going very well, four bases already. Their only bases of value remaining should be Satori Palace and Gilded Roadway, plus to a lesser extent Path to Riches.

[Mart]

MY 2231


Time for research...



MY 2233
  ...



Let's talk business.


...



TOP SECRET
Deep under Headquarter building in Free Drone Central, in a secret meeting room three people gathered.
It was a council as usual. Foreman Domai, Foreman Mart and Spymaster Ronald took their places at the table.
Clearly, fed up Foreman Domai starts the ... "conversation."
"So... I think we all know, why we are here. It has been so many years (!!!) and there is no, and I mean no bl...dy
progress in that investigation. Can you finally tell me how this fully equipped, ocean-worthy probe ship found its
way to a base in the middle of Garland Crater, hundreds of miles away from any coast??? And why? why? WHY???"
"..."
"..."
"ahm..."
"cough, cough, ..."
"..."
"..."
"ahm..."



FDNN Live broadcast

Marvels of Free Drone Society
And we are again in our Free Drone Design Center. What's for today?
You all have heard stories when you were kids about gigantic monsters that were eating
misbehaving children. So called Half-Secret-Projects-on-Wheels.
So... guess what! Reality is more entertaining than any of us could ever imagine.
Today we do not speak about Half-Projects. Not even Whole-Projects.
We speak about Full-Two-Projects! And not only on-Wheels.
We, Free Drones, speak of Full-Two-Projects-with-Wings that our engineers design.

[ete]

Cool, I'll start tonight.

lol@the probe foil on land.

How did you get four tech advances so close to each other? You're teching at one per 13 turns now, would've been slightly less before, and you got fusion in 2230, P/W M in 2231, and OS+Bio-Eng in 2233? Did you have loads of AAs that the AI had not cached in, and that it took you a while to bring to bases with NNs?

It seems pretty weird that you've caught up and overtaken me in tech when you're teching every 13 turns and I'm teching every 3, even with the probing from Satori because there is a bunch of techs she never had of mine and I had all hers.

(click to show/hide)

And any diplomatic instructions, or just whatever the AI agrees to?

[Mart]

...

How did you get three tech advances so close to each other? One from AA, one from research, but you're only teching once every 13 turns now so.. another AA?

All 3 techs from AA.
In fact, two of my bases were already connected by AI with alien artifacts. I just connected 3 more.
It is a good way to forward significantly yourself with techs:
- first, trade, probe, just get all of them other factions have.
As far as I know, the tech Valhallans gave me, was the last I did not have in that turn.
- and then, cash in your AAs in Network Nodes.

Just in 2235 I found another one in a pod. But no time to cash it, probably AI is going to do it, if it allows for few more network nodes. AI does not build them often.

And any diplomatic instructions, or just whatever the AI agrees to?

Yes, whatever AI does.

[ete]

Right, that makes sense. I'd have thought the Bree swallowed most of the sea pods already, and land ones gone since they're all gone from my area, but evidently they lasted longer than expected.

[Mart]

Something around 2230, there were 3 more unity pods on an island 1 tile away from my coast. I got all of them already, 2 produced 2 AAs.
And there are more on sea still.

[ete]

MY 2235

I awake, and immediately call a council meeting.




Excellent. My people are many, and their voices are heard. Now to review production orders, in particular the race for Secret Projects..






Hmmm.. it will be close, but I think I can take the Ascetic Virtues. It'll cost most of my energy reserves and a bunch of units, but that's a price I'll happily pay.



All these air units don't mix well with Free Market. I'll need a Punished base to home them to.



And Police State is apparently necessary to avoid mass riots.. urg, the loss of efficiency is painful, but worthwhile. Extra support will help while I prepare to disband most of my ground units.



I'm running low on credits and there are many things I'd like to rush.. Let's see if the council will dig up the old fusion core..

Next let's  fix production orders and review my maps

[ete]

At last, the orders for the initial year are ready. Many bases would have rioted if not for the changes made.. it seems the steward AI had an incomprehensible popularity to offset it's incompetence. Many Rec Commons will be necessary if we are to stay in Free Market.

Mission Year 2236




The Drones finish one Secret Project, but their other was delayed by the fact I also had it near completion, a little known trick crucial at times like these.

The Ascetic Virtues


Just in time for Singularity's Seed to complete it. This will ease my faction's harsh population limit, and at the same time make running Free Market less punishing for bases supporting an air force.



Not a vital tech unless I was to fight a war, but a useful one nonetheless. Advanced Spaceflight will be good, but first,,,



Mind/Machine Interface seems like by far the most promising area of research. Not only will it enable an extremely powerful chassis ('copters), it also gives access to two top-class secret projects, an excellent ability, and even a handy specialist as a bonus!

MMI in reality is also pretty awesome, and will probably revolutionize everything in a few decades.




"They've revolted? Back to SEPSU, the slave driver? It's a case of Stockholm Syndrome, we must reclaim these bases and give them ample psychiatric help. I'll call Sepsu and discuss it soon. I expect he'll understand we still hold all the cards in this situation, and be reasonable. Otherwise we'll have to bring in the air force and retake violently. At least Domai would be happier.."




You deride the values of Knowledge while demanding we give it to you? Atsumi, your loyalty to your family is honorable, but you are short-sighted. You fail to see the bigger picture and help the rest of humanity, and you fail to see that the core of development is technology. The wealthiest medieval king was powerless against simple bacterial diseases which can now be effortlessly cured, and the most powerful would lose everything against even a single modern scout patrol unit.

You are that king, Atsumi. though you are rich for your hording of resources and unethical trading, you are at my mercy as our recent wars have made evident. I am a reasonable man. Give me control of Gilded Roadway and release the funds you hold so that they may be used to develop technology for humanity's good, and I will allow you to keep your extravagant "palace".



Very well. I will make this quick, and as bloodless as possible.

Send in the bombers. I want Satori Palace in our hands by the end of the year.





Three bases taken, and only two units lost. It was not costless, but Atsumi's energy horde was tactically much more than enough to compensate, let alone undisputed control over the Jungle.

Atsumi, you have lost. Give me the rest of your energy and I'll allow you to keep your life and the last of your bases.

[ete]

He understands he's lost, and that the victor keeps his rewards. I can give him credit for his consistency at least, if not his policies.



How.. did that former get there?

The conspiracy theorists are running rampant on the networks, speculating connections with the infamous crater probe foil incident that occurred in the drones territory.



Rebuilding is progressing throughout the Jungle. Huge amounts of credits have been poured into reconstruction, from the Technocrat's savings, from the fusion core, and from Atsumi's horde.




Have a team of strategists put together a report on assaulting the Bree bases in the ocean near the Jungle. I don't feel like they're going to remain friendly for long. And get them infiltrated!

[ete]

MY 2238







I wonder why the Vikings are so keen to fight the children..

MY 2239



Ah, at last! There's no immediate hurry for these secret projects, I'm confident I'll get them.



Skipping straight to Plasma Shards, plus a handy SP and Orbital Power Transmitters.

MY 2240




The two largest Satori bases have been rebelling for several years now, with no way to stop them. Even turning everyone into specialists is not effective.. so with a heavy heart I give the order to disband some military units and rush Punishment Spheres in both. They will be removed as soon as possible, but these disagreements cannot be allowed to stop humanity's progress.




So, the Bree do not bend to threats. They're at war with our allies and analysts suggest war would be in our favor, capturing productive sea bases will speed our research. They don't seem like they'll co-exist permanently anyway. We'll leave them a reserve.

[ete]

MY 2240



The naval units are in position, air power ready to support. Let's see if she responds to direct provocation.











As you see, we have considerable advantages in combat Bre Ata. I'll take a temporary ceasefire though, you have a moderately threatening air force and I'd rather not feel your reprisals.



2240 power graph. The drones are still staying very close, even with our absorption of the Satori organzation and their funds.

[ete]

And I'm done for tonight. I'll be away tomorrow, but will finish my round the day after.

It's fun to have a player who's building at the same rate as me into the late game.

Also, BlueFlux, will you be playing another round after or should Mart play after me?

[Flux]

Nah.

[ete]

MY 2242

It's been a relatively calm couple of years. Lots of work organizing and optimizing as usual, but no major developments. We've finally infiltrated the Bree




And discovered they have 13 mid-tech needlejets, enough to disrupt our development of the jungle if it came to war.

MY 2243



Weapons tech is coming along nicely, with this we have over double the per-unit offensive power of any other faction on planet. We've had a proposal from a team of engineers about creating orbital power satellites, which was ultimately decided a lower priority than more crawlers and formers currently.



I've helped Atsumi research AEE already by gifting her other techs she was looking into, so I'll be able to trade this from her and switch to a different tech costlessly. Let's get that now.

[Mart]

Just a question, I left (Drones) two transport foils with probe teams on sea.
Did AI use them/unloaded/probed anything? And you got a message in-game about it, or just saw it on map?